


the flower in the devil's garden

by Binxxx



Series: The Devil All the Time [3]
Category: Naruto
Genre: Alternate Universe, BAMF Haruno Sakura, Dreams, Dreams vs. Reality, F/M, Fluff and Smut, Forest Sex, Forests, GaaSaku Valentines Day Event 2021, Hades!Gaara, Inspired by Hades and Persephone (Ancient Greek Religion & Lore), Inspired by Lana Del Rey Songs, Inspired by Maleficent (2014), Inspired by Poetry, Oral Sex, Past Lives, Persephone Goes Willingly With Hades (Ancient Greek Religion & Lore), Persephone!Sakura, Religious Imagery & Symbolism, Sakura (Cherry Blossoms), Sheep & Goats, Stalking, Symbolism, The Princess Bride References, True Love, inspired by the Princess Bride, inspired by the Witch, soul mates
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-14
Updated: 2021-02-14
Packaged: 2021-03-14 05:33:56
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,218
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29413455
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Binxxx/pseuds/Binxxx
Summary: “Would you like to live deliciously?” Gaara purred into her ear.Sakura gazed up at the man who was the culmination of sin and beauty. She turned her head in wonder at his intoxicating appearance. Her angel eyes saw the good in many devils, and he was no exception.Sakura didn’t hesitate when she said, “Yes.”↳ GaaSaku, Valentines Day Event 2021: devil/Hades!Gaara + Persephone!Sakura + Romantic Trope: True Love
Relationships: Gaara/Haruno Sakura
Series: The Devil All the Time [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2065932
Comments: 8
Kudos: 47





	the flower in the devil's garden

**Author's Note:**

> Oh my lord. Here I am again. Back on my bullshit. Another 10,000+ words. Why do I do this to myself? Life has been extra hard on me lately so I don't know how I managed to finish this on time. 
> 
> This piece is dedicated to a few people. First, aelibia, Clementive. and HyguugaTenTen. They all have helped me tremendously. You guys are awesome. Thank you so much for everything.
> 
> This is also dedicated to a commenter called januarywren. Thank you so much for your comments and kind words, they really made my day. You are the sweetest. This one is for you. 
> 
> Guess what? There is fanart for this series! My very FIRST fanart. So, thank you so much to the commissioner who requested the piece and to artist jingmcastle who created a gorgeous and hot piece of art. Seriously, Gaara looks amazing. I cannot stop gushing about it. It's stunning. It also made me cry 'cuz again, I've never had fanart before. I've linked [jingcastles ](https://jingmcastle.tumblr.com/)Tumblr and the fanart is posted at the bottom of the fic. 
> 
> My love for The Princess Bride, Maleficent, and The VVitch is VERY evident in this fic. There are a couple of lines and scenes that come directly from each of those films, just like in the first installment of this series. I'm heavily inspired by films. I was also inspired by the "Persephone to Hades" poem written by Nikita Gill. Please read that poem, it's gorgeous and it perfectly encompasses how I feel about this fic. I used one of Gill's lines in this poem as well. The line used is very obvious. 
> 
> The theme for this fic is "True Love". Do you think it happens every day? 

In the land of gods and monsters, there lived an angel, or a woman as close to an angel as possible. The maiden was spring come to life—radiant green eyes, soft and long pink hair, a cheerful demeanor, and a gorgeous smile that she could make the coldest hearts swoon. 

The aura that surrounded Sakura was enthralling, and whenever she traversed the land, the nature around her seemed to stand at attention, waiting for an order. She was taunting in her flowy and flowery gowns, a vision of shimmering light. She was the loveliest flower in the garden, a fruit ripe for the picking, and yet she remained alone, though not by choice. Her entire life she lived pampered and sheltered—her mother always keeping a watchful eye on her favorite daughter. Any would-be suitor had been rightfully, and comically, run-off by her overbearing mother. Tsunade claimed that any man worthy of her would endure every hardship for her hand in marriage. And though Sakura and Tsunade disagreed on many a thing, this was not one of them.

Thus, the young maiden remained alone, love-stricken but always hopeful.

And though the goddess of spring was known as a demure and coy beauty, there was no denying her feistiness. A young woman of grace and beauty with a cosseted, sometimes even volatile, temperament. The product of being raised an only child, her mother doted on her in excess, and while most would look down upon that behavior, Sakura saw the matter in a different light. Her mother taught her to know better than to fall for sweet, empty, promises and artful prose—she expected devotion. She expected something all-consuming. Passion on top of passions.

Her mother taught her to know her worth. Sakura did not suffer fools and she pitied anyone who underestimated her.

She was fierce of heart and body. A sunflower soul but as clever as the devil himself.

Or so she thought.

* * *

Sakura had been accustomed to shadows her entire life. They were tricks of light and nothing more. The whispery dancing figures were nothing to fear, at least, not in her realm. Sakura knew every dark corner, every crevasse, every shadow in the corners of her meadow.

Hence why it came as an unwelcome surprise when Sakura discovered a new one, hiding within the thicket of her forest.

Someone was playing a game with Sakura, and a dizzying one at that. The shadow was always fleeting, moving within the corners of her eyes, too fast for her to catch it. Large and looming, it would appear behind her, engulfing her into darkness. However, no matter how swiftly Sakura responded, whenever she turned, she found herself alone.

An uneasy feeling prickled at the base of her neck during those moments. She sensed eyes watching her, but never found evidence of any foul play.

The shadow had never been anything more than a nuance. Never harmful, only mysterious. And so, eventually, Sakura paid the shadow no mind. The presence became a new constant, and she strangely found herself comfortable with the change.

Sakura and her new companion were at an odd truce. The shadow remained, and as long as it didn’t do anything else, and she was fine with that arrangement.

And so, the game continued.

* * *

The days bleed together, and the shadow always remained, but nothing else changed. Life was as it always had been—filled with laughter and splendor; however, only Sakura knew the truth. The company of her maidens and her mother was pleasant enough, but a deep and powerful yearning had settled into the hollows between her bones and wrapped itself around her heart.

Sakura knew better than to fall at the feet of any man who tried to covet her, and yet, she felt unimaginable loneliness. An instructive voice rattled within her head, whispering to her, prodding at her, taunting her with the idea that she could never find love. 

She was delightfully chaotic, and she imagined her lover would be too. Love sounded like a splendid adventure. An adventure that was, unfortunately, still out of her reach.

Not one to dwell on the melancholy, Sakura continued with her life.

The Nysian meadow was lovely all year round, but Sakura thought Spring suited the land best. The large trees that loomed overhead were delicate somehow in an odd way—they would stand over her—protective and silent, keeping her company in her loneliest moments. 

Sakura could hear the hushed giggles of the water nymphs nearby and the rustling of some bushes. A doe, tall and graceful, appeared out of the foliage and bowed its head in greeting towards the spring goddess. Sakura delicately ran her hand down the does head and tickled its snout. 

The doe snorted and shook its head and Sakura giggled at the response. The doe trotted away to graze in the grass, and Sakura shifted to lay on her back, the canopy of the large looming trees shielding her eyes from the warm sun. She wiggled her toes into the dir. The earth and the soil a comforting feeling on her bare feet.

Sounds of birds singing high up in the trees, the river that bordered the forest babbled and gushed, and the grazing deer lulled Sakura into a peaceful trance. This type of serenity couldn’t be bought or replaced. 

This was true peace.

Her green eyes snapped open suddenly. The deer looked up too and quickly scattered.

Something else was there.

Sakura could feel it lingering around her. The aura brushed against hers, dark and stormy and familiar. It called to her like a siren’s song as goosebumps crawled up her nape. She sat up and her long pink hair was filled with twigs and blades of grass. The shadow moved behind the trees and then was off. The chase had begun. Sakura smiled wide and her feet followed hastily after her shadowy friend. The game was something that kept her entertained—she would chase it for hours around the meadow and the forest, hoping one day to catch whatever or whoever it was lurking underneath the dark cover.

Sakura held her hands out as she stumbled over a fallen log that acted as a bridge for a small stream of water. The moss felt like a cushion under her feet. She jumped off and continued her pursuit.

“Come back,” Sakura called out to the shadow, but it only moved faster.

The hem of her flowy white dress was dragging wildly behind her, the bottom of it stained a delightful green color. The roseate was panting as she kept pace with the shadow’s fast movements. She bounded over several rocks and fallen trees, through thorned bushes, and down a steep hill.

Sakura was running so fast she wasn’t paying attention to her surroundings anymore. The beautiful and tranquil meadow faded into the background. The warmth of the sun disappeared instantly as Sakura came to cross the boundary line of her land. She halted and stood there, catching her breath. The shadow vanished into dark and haunting woods in front of her.

There was a stark contrast dividing line between the spring meadow she lived in and the dark wood forest beside it. Her side was alive—it was filled with miles of green, rolling flower hill, sunny warmth, and vitality. The dark wood forest was as the name implied—dark. The sun didn’t touch this part of the land, almost like it was too afraid to illuminate whatever creature could be lurking within. Even the river that divided the land was devoid of life. The trees were almost completely pitch black, and they were just as large and looming as her own, but she sensed foreboding energy trickling off the woods.

Her mother had told her never to cross the boundary line and to never enter the forbidden dark woods.

Sakura huffed. She was not known for her patience. The river at her feet was filled with small pebbles and rocks and she bent down and reached for one. Sakura raised an eyebrow and rolled her shoulder back, chucking the rock far into the dark wood forest.

“Coward,” she yelled towards the shadow that was now presumably long gone.

Nothing came out of the bushes, everything remained silent. Sakura grumbled to herself, grabbing the train of her gown to stomp back into her domain. Their game had never cut this short before, and while she wanted to throw caution to the window and chase the blasted shadow into the dark woods, she knew better than to disobey her mother.

* * *

As the pink goddess retreated, cruel jade eyes hidden in the dark watched in fascination as she gave up. He tsked in disappointment.

Her hesitation would not do.

* * *

That night, inside her mother’s goddess temple, Sakura slept. She dreamt of the rich brown earthen hues of the forest ground, the puffy cotton white clouds, and the sweet song of the brook cascading down smooth limestone rocks.

Even in her dreams, she never wanted to escape the wonderland of her meadow.

Green meadows and fields of flowers disappeared into nothingness and then, whispery hands settled onto her shoulders, the calloused palms caressed her smooth and soft skin. A mouth settled itself next to her ear.

_Sakura, Sakura…_

The gravelly and low voice made her shiver. The solid-body behind her and the hands clutching her shoulders belonged to a man, but she couldn’t move her head to look at him. She was stuck.

Her surroundings shifted once again, gone was the pitch-black void, replaced now with the dividing line of the forest. Her feet were in the river, the water up to her knees.

_Cross…_

Sakura shook her head in hesitation, but the voice continued.

_Cross the river, Sakura…_

The hands moved down her shoulders and the warmth in his palms made goosebumps rise.

_Cross, cross, cross, cross, cross…_

Her body moved instinctually. The water was bone-chilling and soon, the water was up to her shoulders, but the water wasn’t what she was focused on. The dark wood forest was birthed from the recesses of the darkest mind imaginably, calling to the lost souls, playing enchanting symphony after another to guide the misguided into its sweet trap. The black leaves danced to an unheard beat, whispering their songs to the wind. In the dark wood, sheltered by the mighty trees, was an unknown kind of life, something not pleasant. Sakura was born of cascading light—she was a brilliant white glow illuminating a path onward into the darkest place she’d ever seen.

With her dress soaking wet and with no clue where she was going, Sakura marched forward into the unknown. The man behind her had disappeared the moment she wadded into the water, but she could still sense him—he was close.

The dark woods echoed with the sounds of nocturnal ghosts, of the damned, of the dead—of the creature who moved safely within the hug of grey shadowed night. Something was lurking in the dark, but she kept moving.

_Sakura…_

A silhouette in the dark stood in front of her and she stopped in front of it. The head of the man turned curiously.

A shadowy hand came up and he held it out to her.

_Sakura…_

Her viridian eyes looked unsure as she flickered up to where his face should be but she couldn’t discern anything from the faceless creature.

“What do you want?” she whispered.

The silhouette moved closer to her, almost too close, but she didn’t move away.

_Everything you have to offer…_

* * *

Sakura tried not to dwell on the dream. She was no stranger to odd dreams, and while the visions she witnessed were certainly peculiar, she didn’t want to give it any more of her attention.

Days passed and Sakura moved on. She liked to dawdle by the lake—sometimes the nymphs kept her company, but more often she was alone. She still felt the shadowy presence near, but it didn't show itself to her.

Today she was alone once again. The pinkette braided strings of flowers into the wreath crown she was making, trying to ignore the almost annoying presence that was dancing on the outside of the field.

It was back.

Sakura turned her nose up at it, making sure to convey the absolute indifference she felt. She wouldn’t be playing any more games—not unless the shadow showed itself.

The day grew old and the wind called to her to go home, the sun sinking beneath the line where the sky met the landscape, but Sakura continued to ignore the presence stubbornly. The light shone through the boughs in both brilliant and shadowy beams. The beams were gold, illuminating the greens in her eyes into virescent spectacles of wonder.

The forest was silent as Sakura moved to leave but she turned around to where she knew the shadow was hiding.

“I refuse to play your games until you reveal yourself,” Sakura declared, and with those parting words, she whisked herself away, her pretty gown billowing behind her.

* * *

Sakura knew every twig, every blade of grass, every speck of dirt in her land. The forest itself was nestled and stitched inside of her. She could feel the movement of every animal, she could feel the laughter of nymphs and fae. She could feel when life itself was born, and she could feel when life itself was taken. The hatching of the newborn birds would ring in her ears as she soothed a dying buck in its final moments.

She knew when something entered and when something left the boundaries of her meadow.

And she knew when the shadow disappeared.

One moment it was there, and the next, it was gone. She didn’t know if she should feel relief or disappointment.

The shadow alluded her, and while now she knew where she could find it, she refused to play the seeker.

Sunlight filtered in through the trees, shining rays of gold onto the roseate, who was running her fingers along the head of a newborn lamb. Sakura had been there to witness the miracle of life, and the curious thing was already learning to stand on wobbly and dainty legs. Sakura helped the newborn latch onto its mother when it became obvious the poor creature was struggling, and after, she watched as it suckled on the Ewe’s teat hungrily. Her fingers ran on top of the lamb’s wooly fur. She mouthed a silent prayer for the newborn—wishing it a long and happy life.

Far in the distance, Sakura felt the familiar stances of four cloven hooves enter into her domain. Her eyes narrowed at the ominous aura around the animal. Something was wrong.

“I’ll be back, little one,” Sakura whispered to the nursing mother and babe.

In her mud-stained dress and flower crown, the young goddess went to greet her newest guest. A dirt path created from centuries of roaming barefoot through the woods led her straight to the intruder.

Sakura stopped dead in her tracks.

At the end of the trail sat the most striking black male goat she’d ever seen. He was sporting the long spindly horns, glowing yellow-green eyes that were piercing, and black fur was that was long and untamed. The creature came up to her waist, and it regarded her curiously from its position.

“Hello,” Sakura said with a smile. She bent down at the knee and extended her hand. “Welcome.”

The goat blinked and walked forward. The energy the creature gave off was slightly menacing with the faintness hints of nervousness. Sakura decided the creature was only frightened.

“You don’t need to be frightened— I won’t hurt you,” Sakura promised.

The goat huffed and Sakura could have sworn it sounded like a scoff.

Cloven hooves finally settled into the dirt in front of her and Sakura’s hand hovered over the goat’s dark head. “May I?” she asked her newest guest.

The goat bowed his head in agreement and then, her hand was caressing its dark black fur. The texture of the hair was soft, a stark contrast to the menacing creature it belonged to.

“You’re very beautiful,” Sakura said, scratching the goat's chin. “Where do you come from?”

The goat only blinked at her. The feeling that swaddled the animal seemed lost.

“Well,” Sakura started. “You can stay here until you find whatever it is you came looking for.”

The roseate stood up and motioned with her hand. “Come, follow me.”

He only huffed again and turning off to the side and walking into the brush, ignoring her completely.

Sakura scoffed at the goat's retreating figure. “All right,” she called to it. “Suit yourself.”

* * *

The spring maiden was back in the dark woods again and the chill in the air made her skin tingle. Sakura knew she was dreaming even as she walked through the dark and empty forest, but she couldn’t make herself wake up. And this time, there was no man, no shadow, nothing at all. She didn’t even have the pleasant company of the moon or the hallowing winds. She was completely alone. She didn’t know whether to be comforted by that fact or concerned.

She turned around and as she did, her surroundings only grew denser and denser, only she could no longer see between the trees and the leaves. And so, she just kept walking, deeper and deeper in the belly of the beast. The path she followed was worn out and had probably been walked by dozens of people centuries before her birth.

Her green eyes squinted in the dark. In the distance, several yards away from her, she saw a shimmering light, and with nowhere else to go, she followed the beach like a moth to a flame.

Through the dark forest, the spring goddess walked until she stumbled onto a large dead Cypress tree in a clearing. Above her, the trees created a pocket for the moon to shine down onto the fallen log and as Sakura walked closer and closer, she sat the most peculiar thing.

Growing out of the dead and rotting tree was the branch of a cherry blossom tree, the flowers in full bloom.

A gasp was caught in her throat and she just looked at the branch, wide-eyed and confused. Her fingers reached out to brush the petals of the flowers. “What—” she whispered in disbelief.

The pink and soft texture was too real underneath her fingertips—too lifelike. She could feel the pillowy smoothness and delicateness that only came from the petal of a flower.

A twig snapped behind her and she whirled around, and her eyes found the ceiling of her temple bedroom. She was in her bed.

Sakura sat up and inhaled a deep breath, looking out the window towards the forest. When she reached up to touch her flush cheeks, something soft touched her skin, and when she looked down, in her hand was the petal of the cherry blossom. And when she shuffled out of her bed, she saw her feet covered in dirt and mud.

She swallowed at the sight, her heart thumping quickly against her breast, her hand clutching the poor petal tightly.

* * *

Fluffy clouds and the cool breeze kept Sakura and her curious little lamb company the next day. She welcomed the sight as she tried to forget about the dream. The pinkette was on her back, the lamb tucked into itself by her head, slumbering. Fields of greens surrounded her. She and her lamb were hidden in the tall blades of grass, enjoying life’s simple pleasures.

Sakura closed her eyes and dozed. The sun's rays shining down gave the pink hair fawned out around her a halo effect. She was spring come to life.

Cloven hooves trotted through the grass and one of her green eyes opened. Her black goat appeared to stand beside her in the grass.

“You’ve come to join me?” Sakura asked.

The goat snorted and bobbed its head.

She patted the ground beside her. “Then come and lay with me.”

He needed no more instruction and he laid down against her side, his head on her belly. She stroked his head as his eyes closed.

Sakura smiled at the expression. She got the feeling he didn’t get affection often, and she put her head back down into the grass, and she, her lamb, and her goat enjoyed the day.

* * *

Sakura found herself drifting closer and closer to the boundary of the forest each passing day. Sometimes, time would escape her, and somehow, she found herself face the river to the dark woods. Whatever was lurking in that forest had already dug its roots into her psyche. Something wanted her to go in.

Sakura was at the whim of the cosmos, completely lost and unsure of what to do.

Today though, tough, bare feet kept the roseate balanced on the thick and mossy roots embedded into the ground. Her arms were spread out to keep her upright and she skipped and jumped across each branch, trying to keep herself from falling over.

Sakura had situated herself on a long hanging tree branch when her goat stomped through the bushes. Severe and disconcerting rectangular pupils watched her from the ground and, eventually, when Sakura paid him no mind, he stomped one of his hooves impatiently.

She looked at him. “Yes?”

He stared at her and then he bleated low at her.

Sakura sighed. “Forgive me but I do not understand you. I don’t know many who speak goat.”

He stomped his foot again, and when it became apparent she wasn’t going to do anything about his inquiry, he started to jump up and buck. He moves wildly around, standing up on his hind legs, and Sakura sat up, spooked by his behavior. She scrambled down the branch and stopped in front of him. Then, he stopped.

“A tantrum? Really?” Sakura chided her goat.

He huffed and turned around, walking down a dirt path. He looked back at her. Sakura sighed and motioned with her hand. “Lead the way.”

Sakura followed him through the woodland. The goat, while certainly unusual looking and displaced in her lively and spring forest, looked beautiful in the mid-afternoon sun. The odd creature looked almost inviting instead of menacing.

Finally, they reached the outside of the forest and he hopped down towards the river.

“Wait,” Sakura called to him, but he was already skipping across a convenient set of stones in the water until he was situated on the other side. He turned around and face her, the dark wood forest an ominous background behind him. The goat bleated at her again.

“No,” she said, shaking her head.

He stomped his foot.

“No,” her tone was firm.

The goat snorted and turned his head, disappearing into the dark wood forest, leaving Sakura to stand alone on the boundary line.

* * *

The dark woods only grow denser and denser every night and Sakura spends hours running, trying to find her way out. She walked up steep mountains, she dove into the dark and deep lake, and she stumbled into rocky caves, but she found nothing. Whoever resided there wouldn’t show themselves until they wanted to be found.

Sometimes, she’d catch a glimpse of her shadow in the corners of her eyes, moving quick and fast, only to disappear.

Tonight, she was climbing down from one of the largest trees she’d ever seen or dreamt of. It took her hours to reach the top, and when she did, as she suspected, she found nothing.

She huffed and her breath was visible in the air. The forest was no longer frightening to her. It was clear that there was nothing here except one thing. And that thing refused to be caught or seen.

Sakura walked towards the lake and she skipped a pebble across the smooth surface of the water. The area was tranquil—nothing was around.

A prickling feeling settled in her stomach and she looked around, suddenly alert. Nothing was behind her in the forest. She looked ahead of her and across the lake, she saw it. The figure of a person. They were several yards away, and Sakura couldn’t see anything to identify who or what they were. It was just the black outline of somebody.

Sakura’s brow furrowed at them. And then they did the strangest thing—they waved at her.

Tentatively, her own hand rose and she returned the gesture.

Then, whoever it was that was across the lake stopped waving and walked away, vanishing into the misty trees behind them.

* * *

Her resolve was breaking. The goat had stopped coming, the shadow had disappeared, and the dreams kept her in a state of perpetual confusion. She would roam the forest for hours in her dreams but she couldn't find anything or anyone anymore. She kept waiting to hear the voice again, to see the cherry blossom branch again, or to see the shape again, but nothing was happening.

Nothing was changing.

Sakura knew that the only way to find answers was for her to do what she’d be denying for weeks now. She’d go into the dark woods tonight. She thought herself too clever to fall for any tricks or traps. Sakura was capable, she was strong, and she was smart.

Tonight, she would get answers.

* * *

Sakura raced towards the dark woods in a silent but hurried manner that same night, a burning lantern in hand, her long nightgown trailing behind her like a long and whitetail. She was panting slightly as she stumbled over rocks and branches, nearly tripping in her hast to make her way down the banks of towards the river. The moon was following behind her, watching her every movement with silent judgment—even it knew she shouldn’t be out here.

When she reached the river, she went to the steppingstones the goat had so graciously shown her weeks prior, the ones that lead across. Sakura looked behind her for a brief moment only to face forward again, the look of uncertainty quickly disappearing off her face as she began to jump and skip across the rocks until her feet touched the dark grass on the opposite side.

Sakura uncertainly made her way up at the bank and away from the river. She gave her meadow and forest one last longing glance before entering the dark woods. The woods opened to receive her and then she was engulfed into the unknown. The light on her lantern flickered out but she wouldn’t be needing it.

In her dreams, the land was shadowed in darkness, devoid of life, barren and hopeless. She only pictured it like that because she had never seen what truly lived within. And now she felt a right fool. Sakura had thought nothing could look more beautiful than a land engulfed in spring and sun—but she was wrong.

With amazement and wonder at the scenery that surrounded her, Sakura stumbled through what she could only describe as a bright and luminescent wonderland. Mushrooms, flowers, insects—everything was glowing with a delicate and memorizing hue of blue and pink. The air was filled with fireflies, burning bright in every color of the rainbow. Even the moss on the trees and ground was glowing. Sakura spun around and laughed at the picture before her. Everything was gorgeous.

She left glowing footsteps as she traveled deeper and deeper into the dark woods, but the scenery only grew more enchanting.

Sakura walked until the path dipped out and she stumbled onto a scene even more beautiful than the last. Tall, and uneven mountains surrounded a massive, captivating, and luminescent lagoon filled to the brim with life. A large and glowing waterfall was situated on the side of the lake that Sakura occupies and the look on her face was dazzling. Her fingers dipped into the water to watch the glowing water swirl and dance before her. She could hear the sound of frogs ribbiting and splashing through the water, the sound of fireflies buzzing, and the glittering chime of the fae.

A cluster of tiny yellow fairies surrounded her, inspecting her. She giggled as she raised her hand to let them touch her. Each one of the fairies took their turns in coming up to greet her. One of them played with her long hair, another brought her a shiny rock, and another sat in her hand, giggling, and speaking in their little language.

“You’re all very beautiful,” Sakura whispered to the fairies and her words made them twinkle and squeal in joy. They continued to circle her, glittering and happy, until they all felt the unmistakable presence of something appear in the shadows behind them. Sakura turned to look and the fairy in her hand, and the ones around her, flew off in fear.

Sakura can make out the silhouette of something in the thick cluster of trees. “I know you’re there. Don’t be afraid.”

A man chuckled and then a raspy and low voice said, “I am not afraid.”

Sakura let out a breath. “Then come out.”

A long pause. “Then you’ll be afraid.”

“No, I won’t,” Sakura said earnestly, but in truth, she was a little frightened.

“Hn.”

The shape of a familiar black goat appeared from behind the trees, and then, before her eyes, he morphed into what she assumed was a man. He wasn’t much taller than her, but he was imposing, shrouded in black. And finally, his long and curved horns dissolved and disappeared, leaving only the outline of spiked hair.

He was a shapeshifter—just like her mother.

“You’re my goat?”

He nodded. “I suppose I am.”

“Why hide your appearance? Why not just walk into my forest like an honest man?” Sakura asked.

“Hn—” the shadowed man hummed while moving around, keeping himself bathed in black. “I am not welcome in your land in this form.” And then he paused. 

Sakura’s head turned in confusion. “Because of my mother?”

He shook his head. “Because I do not belong.”

Sakura softened at the vulnerable tone of his voice. “I’m sure that’s not true,” she said gently.

The shadow man didn’t answer her, stopping behind another set of trees, putting more distance and space between them. Sakura nervously tapped her fingers against her nightgown. Was he frightened of her?

“Who are you?” Sakura asked softly. 

“No one of consequence,” he replied.

Sakura grimaced. “I’m sure that’s not true either, please, I must know.”

“Get used to disappointment.”

Sakura huffed and turned around, crouching down to pet one of the many frogs that descended upon the shore to greet her.

“Do you live here?” she tried, stroking the slimy back of a cute green frog.

“Only sometimes,” he said cryptically.

A long silence followed his final statement and Sakura busied herself with dipping her feet into the water, curious-looking fish coming up to inspect the new visitor. Sakura decided not to push the stranger—he clearly wasn’t comfortable with her presence or her nosy prodding. So, for a moment, Sakura forgot about his presence, and she focused on the beauty around her. She was completely enraptured with the dark and glowing heaven that sat only a hop, skip, and a river away from her own land. 

Finally, his throat cleared, and he said, “What is your name?”

Sakura’s head turned in his direction and she tried to make eye contact with the silhouette. “My name is Sakura.”

“Sakura,” the voice repeated, the name rolling off his tongue deliciously. She shivered at his tone.

“What do they call you?”

He was silent for several moments. “Return tomorrow and I may tell you.” His presence suddenly vanished, and, just like that, Sakura was alone. 

* * *

Nothing could have kept Sakura from the dark woods the next night. She waited for sundown and just like before, she ran towards the river again, lantern in hand. As though his energy pulled her to him, Sakura soon found her shadow man in the same area from the night before.

“You’ve returned,” he remarked from the darkness.

“You asked me to.” Sakura turned her back to him, looking out onto the splendid lake and the dazzling wildlife.

“I suppose I did.”

“Will you tell me your name now?” Sakura asked quietly. The silence that followed her question made her uneasy.

“No.”

Sakura sagged at his response. “You said if I returned that you would.”

The voice made a chiding noise. “I believed I said I _may_ tell you, not that I would.”

Sakura scoffed and kicked a pebble into the water with a resounding plink.

"Semantics,” Sakura grumbled.

The spring goddess sat on a rock by the lakeshore, her feet skating across the surface of the water.

She looked at the man standing off in the darkness and the next question to leave her mouth was one she had sat on since she met him. “Why am I here?”

“You came here of your own volition, Sakura.”

“You and I know that’s not the truth,” Sakura stated. “The shadow, the goat, the dreams—they were all you.”

He hummed but did not reply.

“I thought maybe my imagination had conjured you, when I first saw the shadow in the meadow that day,” Sakura remarked. “You did a good job of hiding yourself.”

Still nothing.

“Are you going to tell me anything?” Sakura asked incredulously.

“Ask the right questions and I might.”

He let out a low chuckle at her annoyed groan.

Sakura skipped a pebble across the water. “I’ve never seen anyone else besides you and I come in or out of here.”

“And you won’t.”

“Why is that?”

“Because I’m the only one here.”

Sakura turned to look at him. “You cannot be the only one here.”

He hummed. “Aside from the wildlife and the fae— I _am_ the only one here.”

Sakura looked around at the massive landscape before her. He was telling the truth—that much she was certain, but how?

“How is that possible?”

“Most are too frightened to enter.”

She sighed. She’d been too frightened to enter at one point as well. The exterior of the dark woods looked foreboding and ominous. The woods looked like they sucked the life out of everything inside. There was a silence to land from the outside; nothing would seep from the inside out. She couldn’t feel any life moving within the forest from her meadow. She looked at this land like winter; barren and cold, but within the leaves and the brush she found life.

“Don’t you get lonely?”

In the silence that followed her question, there was a tense aura. The energy radiating off of him was fluctuating in a worrying manner.

He spoke again. “Loneliness is an unavoidable pain—to think otherwise is foolish. Just look at you.”

Sakura scoffed, offended. “There’s a difference between being alone and being lonely.”

“And which are you?” he says in an overly interested tone.

“I am alone,” Sakura stated a little too confidently. It was only after she said it did she realize how pathetic she sounded.

He chuckled darkly. “Is that really any better?”

She hated his condescending laughter and tone. He’d unknowingly just made her reveal her greatest insecurity and now he was mocking her for it. Sakura rose angrily and she stomped away down the path and back towards her forest, feeling his eyes watch her the entire way back.

* * *

The young maiden returned the following day, unable to resist the temptation of the dark woods, though the residual feelings of anger remained. Her annoyance permeated the air around her and she knew he could sense it.

“You’ve returned,” he noted from the shadows. 

“And you’re still hiding,” Sakura retorted.

“I suppose I am.”

“And you’re going to stay that way?”

“Yes, I will.”

Sakura sighed, defeated. There was no use arguing.

* * *

During the day, the spring goddess lived her life as she normally did. She bathed in the river, she swung from the trees, she explored the caves, she ran down the long fields of flowers.

And at night, she escaped into a dark paradise with wonderous glowing land and creatures.

She was skipping across a set of stones in the water, trying to balance herself. If she fell, she would fall directly into shallow and mud-filled water.

Eyes were following her from the dark woods. “You should be careful.”

“I don’t need to be careful, I’m perfectly capable—”

A frog skittered across one of the stones as she said that, and in an effort not to crush it to death, she jumped to the side and she shrieked as she crashed into the water hard. The pinkette resurfaced moments later, sputtering and mortified.

To his credit, he didn’t even laugh at her, all he did was making a small chiding noise. “I told you to be careful.”

She glared at his shape and grumbled, moving the long locks of pink hair stuck to her face. Her head and face were covered in mud. An idea materialized in her mind and she dug her hands in the soft and gooey mud underneath the water.

Quickly, she flung a fistful of mud towards him, and then she heard the unmistakably _spalt_ of the mud hitting its intended target. She couldn’t still exactly where she hit him, but she was proud of herself, nonetheless.

Sakura erupted into a fit of laughter as the wildlife around her scattered. The frogs and fairies swarming in the area disappeared—they all knew what she had just done.

Her laughter rang out in the now empty landscape and then—

Sakura cried out in surprise and then she huffed in anger as realized what happened. She got a face full of mud. She wiped her hands down her cheeks to remove the substance. Greens eyes glowered hard at the chuckling silhouette.

“Hn. You’re no longer amused?” he inquired.

* * *

The days they spent together grew in tension and in comfort, which was an odd mixture. She no longer held any lingering feelings of worry or fear of her shadow. Sometimes they would spend the time in heated conversations, and most other times, they enjoyed each other’s quiet company.

Things between them were tense because she wanted more from him, and he called her gluttonous. She always snorted at that statement. He would skirt around any prying questions, ignoring her curiosity. If she ever drifted too close into the shadows, he would vanish.

But when things weren’t tense, they were good. Comfortable. They were two lonely souls, alone together.

She found herself looking forward to the night now. Spending time in the dark wasn’t something she ever thought she’d enjoy.

And now she had someone to enjoy it with.

* * *

“Sakura,” he said one night, unprompted.

She turned her head to look at him.

He regarded her for several seconds, devouring her expression. “Do you fear the reaper?”

Sakura’s head was tilted in thought. “No. I do not”

“Why?”

“Death comes for us all—it holds no prejudice,” she stated bluntly. She was not naïve. She was the goddess of spring, of rebirthed life. She knew there could be no life without death.

“You don’t fear death?”

“No…do you?” Sakura said. 

He chuckled low. “No, I don’t.” He sounded confident. Cocky.

Sakura grinned. Just exchanging words with him brought her more excitement than anything in years.

* * *

“I once dreamt of a cherry blossom sprouting in the woods,” she told him one night, her back against a fallen and mossy log.

“Hn.”

“Why did you show it to me?”

“What makes you think I did?”

She looked over at him and raised an eyebrow. “Because you did.”

He hummed and relented. “I did show it to you.”

She mockingly raised both her eyebrows. “Will you tell me why, or will I need to play a guessing game?”

He ignored her sarcastic remark. “The cherry blossom tree is growing within the forest.”

“It’s real?” Sakura’s voice sounded surprised. She didn’t think anything in those dreams were real.

“Yes. It’s very real,” he paused. “I showed you because it reminds me of you.”

Sakura felt a warmth bloom in her chest and her cheeks at his words. She didn’t even try to contain her smile. “How did it get there?”

She could see him shake his head. “I don’t know…” his voice sounded miles away from this conversation.

“You don’t know? I thought you were the only one here,” Sakura remarked. “How could something happen here without your knowledge?”

He grunted. “Not everything is within my control.”

Sakura smirked. “And I bet that drives you mad.”

“Nothing drives me mad,” he said, monotone.

She scoffed and rolled her eyes. “All right…”

* * *

She couldn’t stop thinking about his voice. When she fell asleep, all she would dream about was the delicious and raspy rumble of his speech. She couldn’t put a face to her shadow, but she didn’t need to, his voice was—

“Sakura.”

He shook her out of her thoughts. She stammered, “Yes?”

“What do you dream of?”

Sakura blushed. He couldn’t have known what she was thinking about, but she still felt flustered at his questioning, like he had caught her with a secret.

“Nothing in particular.”

“Nothing?”

She wrinkled her nose. And in the weeks they’d been meeting, she had become accustomed to his odd questions, and she sighed in deep thought. Her eyes closed at the dreamy rumbling of his voice. “No—” she said. “Yes.”

“What, then?”

“I dream of love,” she admitted a little shamefully. She fantasized about fairytales and romance. She dreamt of an all-consuming passion.

“Love,” he repeated, allowing the syllables to roll on his lips. “Why would you dream of that?” he asked.

“Because what else is there to life besides love?” The response was given with an air of innocence and bluntness.

“And what do you know of love?”

“Nothing, yet.” She looked at his black shape, her eyes wide and unblinking, a glimmer of longing was present in her viridian green gaze.

“Do you know of love?” her breathy voice said.

He chuckled at her innocent question.

“I’m not familiar with the concept.”

She shook her head and stood. For the first time since this started, Sakura felt brave enough to cross over into the shadows and towards him, and surprisingly, he allowed her.

“Love is not a concept,” she chided gently in the dark. “It’s a feeling, it’s a commitment, it’s sacrifice…”

“It’s foolish.”

“Why do you say that?”

“Because love brings only pain.”

Sakura stopped close in front of him. “But what is love without pain?”

He was so close to her she could feel his breath exhale on her skin. His nose was burning hers. She shivered in delight at his closeness. Their mouths only a hair width apart, and he whispered, “A fantasy.”

And then he was gone.

* * *

His vanishing act had upset her more than she thought possible. She was so close to touching him, to feel his breath on her lips, and then he disappeared like a coward.

She didn’t know if she was more upset that he left so suddenly or that he didn’t kiss her.

That night she didn’t hold back.

“Reveal yourself to me or this ends,” she warned him.

He released an amused breath. “Who are you to make demands?”

“The person keeping you from being lonely.”

His aura wavered and she knew her words upset him. Her shadow scoffed low. “You think too highly of yourself.”

The words hurt and she felt the urge to cry. “I will give you one more opportunity to show me who you are, and if you don’t, I will leave.”

She tried not to feel too wounded when he didn't listen to her, instead deciding to slink back deeper into the dark woods. His answer was clear.

“Goodbye, then,” Sakura’s quivering voice said to him.

The roseate turned and walked down the path that led towards her forest. Tears fell silently down her rosy cheeks and the nature around her bid her a silent farewell.

* * *

Sakura tried to go back to her normal life.

Weeks passed and the tree leaves slowly started to shift from their typical soft spring green hue into the gold and scarlet of autumn. The earthly aroma of her meadow, the fragrance of homeliness she had known for years brought Sakura a sense of peace and hope. But she still felt lonely without him. 

She was plagued with thoughts of her shadow.

Her eyes looked for her fleeting friend in every dark crevice and abandoned cave, but she knew she wouldn’t find him.

Time passed, and autumn was prowling closer and closer. She forced herself to forget him. She forced herself to ignore the attraction—she told herself the only reason she cared was because of the allusion. The mystery was what intrigued her…nothing more.

And then, one day, the black goat reappeared.

Sakura was in the middle of an empty field when she saw him, and she rubbed her eyes because she didn’t believe it. He was a good distance away, but he was real, and he was there.

Her green eyes were wide as she looked at him. He looked completely out of place in the field of flowers.

He huffed and bowed his head in greeting.

Sakura wiggled her fingers in greeting shyly. 

And just when she was about to call out to him, he turned around and disappeared into the forest. She exhaled.

Once more consumed by her thoughts and aching need to go to him, Sakura allowed her guard to fall.

And then when the night fell, she dreamed, and he was everywhere.

Echoes of voice surrounded her in the dark woods, but he never revealed himself.

 _Your eyes_ …

Her eyes moved underneath her lids quickly at the sound of his voice.

 _Your eyes hold everything my soul thirsts for_ …

Sakura snapped awake. She would never escape him. Not even in her sleep was she free of him.

She looked out into the dark meadow and shook her head.

“Fine,” she whispered to no one. “Fine…” 

* * *

The moon was full the night that Sakura returned, her body trembling with nerves the entire way towards the dark woods. When she arrived, she sensed his presence in the dark, watching her.

Sakura steeled her back, turning her chin up to appear confident. “Are you ready to come out?”

He scoffed. “Come closer.”

Sakura stepped towards the borderline, the one that divided the light and dark. She stood only a short distance from his silhouette.

He took a single step forward to close the distance between them. Sakura didn’t even have time to bask in the knowledge that he’d finally crossed the threshold– she held her breath as pale white hand melted out of the dark to move a wayward strand of hair from her face, tucking it back into place behind her ear. 

“If I reveal myself to you, you’ll run from me,” he said quietly, reaching up to rub a thumb across the skin of her cheek. His touch was hot, and each stroke of his skin against hers sent a trail of fire spreading down her spine. “You will regret having asked me to show _what_ I really am.”

Sakura leaned into his touch, humming as he drew a path down past her jaw and over her clavicle, smoothing over the hollows of her collarbone.

“I promise you that I won’t.”

“Run or regret?”

“Both,” she breathed, her lips dancing over his.

He sighed and shook his head. Gently, he grasped her hands and walked her back towards the water, and very slowly, her shadow began to materialize out of the dark.

In the light, Sakura gasped at the sight of him. Before, in the shadows, he could have been any man. She would have been prepared to love a man, any man, but the person who stood before her was not simply a man, but a God.

There was no denying who he was. The blood-red symbol on his forehead, the curse mark that swirled up and around his arm, bicep, and chest, and his piercing jade eyes were things that she heard in passing about him. Nymphs would tell her stories about the most reclusive god and how he was more demon than man. Sakura knew the stories were nothing more than frivolous tales meant to scare her, but what stood before her was not a demon.

The God of Death was as regal and as menacing as she imagined. He wasn’t wearing his traditional majestic regalia—instead, he wore simple black and gray robes. He wasn’t even wearing his crown. His smooth and sculpt chest was naked and her eyes couldn’t help but ogle him. He looked like he was cut from marble.

Her mouth went dry at his vicious beauty. How could a man be both so frightening and so magnificent?

“Gaara,” she whispered the name she’d only ever heard in passing, and his eyes seemed to twinkle at her realization of him.

“Sakura,” he whispered back to her.

“You’re real,” she whispered hesitantly, as though she still couldn’t believe it.

“I am,” he murmured sounding unsure of what else to say.

A long moment of silence and but then. “I don't understand...”

He looked at her seriously. “You are made for far more beautiful things than what life has given you, Sakura.” Gaara turned his head curiously to the side, moving closer to her mouth. “You’re wasting away in that meadow and in that temple with your mother.”

Sakura shivered as he finally kissed her properly, holding her tight against him. He parted her lips with ease and pressed his tongue against hers, tasting her moans and drinking in her sighs. Her fingers clutched at his biceps as he thoroughly ravished her, and tenderness blossomed inside her at his ardent attention.

“Why did you believe I would run? That I should regret this?”

He exhaled through his nostrils. “Because you should.”

Sakura swallowed, unable to disagree with him. He was a fearsome creature—the reaper. A bringer of death and chaos. And she didn’t care.

“I won’t run,” Sakura stated confidently.

“Good,” he answered. “I would catch you anyways,” Gaara finished bluntly, and then they were kissing.

“Why me?” Sakura murmured when they broke apart.

“The _ichor_ within you demands a throne—I see it. I feel it,” Gaara whispered against her lips. “You have a raw and wild energy. You are a goddess without rule.”

Sakura felt her stomach flutter at his words. “And you will give me a throne?” her fingers gathered in his short and spikey red hard to tug harshly. He grunted as she snapped his head back and he smiled wild and wide at her display of force.

“Only if that’s what you truly desire,” he purred.

“I desire more than just that.” Sakura nibbled on his lip and he groaned at the sensation.

“What else do you want?”

“I want you to touch me.”

The words hung in the air and Gaara seemed lost in a trance as they seem to reach his ears and invade his mind. His nostrils flared like his patience was being tested.

“As you wish,” he answered.

His lips were back on her and Sakura wrapped her arms around his shoulders. He lifted her off the ground and pulled her into the shadows to lay on the slight slope of the land. Sakura felt the pull of gravity at her feet as she settled comfortably into the plush grass beneath her. Gaara peppered kisses down her cheek towards her neck, pausing to suck and bite the skin there gently, never using any excess force. He was cherishing every patch of her.

He tugged on the sleeves of her nightgown, his eyes questioning her.

She nodded her consent.

Carefully, he maneuvered the dress off of her body, and then she was naked and bare before him. Sakura felt no trepidation or insecurity, his eyes told her everything she needed to know. And while they were hidden in the shadows, he was a creature of the night and she knew he could see her in her entirety.

Gaara’s lips were seared into her skin and she felt suffocated by the lust his kisses inspired in her. He licked her neck and her clavicle slowly, and he kissed her breastbone, but he didn’t move beyond that. She wiggled under him and he looked up at her inquisitively.

“Yes?”

“Please,” she whispered. “More.”

He smiled, wicked. “As you wish.”

His deep voice and genuine praise went straight to her core. She nodded, hoping he wasn’t paying attention to the embarrassing blush staining her cheeks. Delicate kisses were pressed into her sternum and then down the middle of her chest.

Gaara’s wet tongue softly and slowly circled one of her breasts, never letting his tongue hit the center. He bit underneath, mouthing the soft and ivory skin. He sucked and kissed everywhere but the aching points that stood and begged for his attention.

Nothing about this was what she imagined. She thought he’d be all-consuming, passionate. She thought he would be feral in his hunger for her considering _who_ and _what_ he was, but life had once again proved to her that she was not as clever as she thought.

He was gentle, methodical even, as he explored her breast slowly. Kissing every available patch of skin with quiet control. There was a shake to his fingers, a shallowness to his breathing—she knew this slow pace was taxing his self-control, and she was touched at the kindness.

She needed slow. She needed gentle. This was not a realm she had ever delved into before, and the fact that he was willing to suppress and ignore his own impulses was incredibly attractive to her. 

“Gaara,” she whined, her fingers clutching the nape of his neck. 

He ignored her though and continued his sweet torture until finally, his lips ghosted over the pink bud of her breast. He lapped at her nipple, with cruel and wonderful strokes before engulfing it completely. Gaara sucked, hollowing his cheeks and she squirmed at the new and marvelous feeling. Softly, he bit the bud and when she lurched, he did it again. The sweet torture went on and on until he switched to her other breast to give it the same treatment, and she whimpered under him.

One of his rough hands moved down her body and he cupped her dripping core.

“Has anyone ever kissed you here?” Gaara asked, his mouth still wrapped around her nipple. He pushed two fingers onto her wet slit, rubbing them through the slippery mess that had gathered in-between her folds. He pressed right onto her clit, making her moan.

Sakura shook her head. “No.”

“May I?”

Sakura paused and swallowed. She’d already crossed so many lines for him, but if she crossed _this_ line with him, there’d be no coming back. She’d no longer be the pure virgin daughter of spring—she would no longer be the blushing prude the other goddesses giggled at. She dreamed of this for far too long, of stolen intimate moments with a man who worshipped her, who wanted nothing more than to get lost in her body and soul. Sakura was tired of always being sensible, she just wanted to let her desires take control. The consequences be damned.

“You may,” she finally answered.

He sighed and Sakura nearly giggled at how relieved his expression looked. The laughter quickly died in her throat when he slithered down her stomach, trailing burning hot kisses down the entire way, before settling in-between her legs. Sakura was thankful for the darkness; while she wasn’t insecure per se, but the intense scrutiny of this gorgeous god was enough to give a woman a complex. She didn’t have time to dwell on that fact though, because he threw her legs over his shoulders and dove straight in, his hot tongue easing right up the center of her folds. 

Every muscle in her body fluttered at the new feeling that erupted. Sakura knew this was something lovers did, she’d heard so many whispers about this from the forest nymphs and the other lewder goddess, but she never thought it’d feel so exquisite.

Gaara’s warm hands held her spread thighs apart, his mouth moving in slow and deliberate strokes. He was exploring every centimeter of her sex thoroughly, making sure there was not a single area left untouched by his moist tongue. She threw one arm over her eyes and tangled her other hand in his hair. It was incredible, the way he was making her feel, his tongue hot and insistent on her most intimate place. She had touched herself now and then, but it was nothing like _this._ The air and aura around them was thickening with their rising lust, making her dizzy.

He feasted on her under the enchanting and glittering stars. The enchanting night sky and the full moon was their engrossed audience as his mouth made love to her. And the green and dark nature around them seemed to sigh in relief at their union. All was as it should be.

The pace was so slow, almost painful. He licked from her quivering opening all the way to her sensitive clit, circling the bud before moving away. She whimpered at the loss.

“More, please,” Sakura demanded, her fingers twisting into his hair more.

He grunted into her sex, pulling back slightly to simply sat, “As you wish.”

Gaara’s right hand abandoned her thigh and he rubbed her opening, before sinking two fingers into her tight and hot passage.

“Ah,” Sakura cried out. The feeling of his fingers was nothing like her own. His appendages were long and rough, and he curved them to rub up against the walls inside of her. 

Not once did he deviate from his glacial pace. He thrust his fingers into her slow and methodically while his mouth went to back work.

The sounds coming from him and her sex were enough to make her close her eyes and squirm. Everything sounded so lewd and so incredibly perfect all at once. His fingers retreated for a moment and then he dipped his tongue inside her and her hips jumped at the sensation. His chin and nose were covered in her essence and his salvia, but he didn’t seem to mind as he fucked her with his tongue.

Sakura’s hands abandoned his hair to cup her breasts. His earlier ministration on them had surprised her—she didn’t know she could feel that kind of pleasure from her chest alone. Uncertainly, she pinched her wet and swollen nipples between her eager fingers, and she moaned at the wonderful feeling.

Between her legs, jade eyes were watching enraptured with her every movement, and silently he commanded her to continue. So, she did.

She lost herself in the sensation of his mouth, his hands, and her fingers. He worshipped her with his mouth and fingers gently, never allowing himself to become rough or quick. He drew out her pleasure tenderly, almost lovingly.

And then the pressure was building. What once was a slow simmer was not steadily rising and rising and rising until she could feel see the coil in her core tightening,

His hot and insistent mouth still flicking and sucking her clit and his long, delicious fingers thrusting into her core just right, she careened over the edge into pure bliss with a final cry ripping from her throat. His pace didn’t slow down, which only caused her drew out her climax further, keeping her in a state of ecstasy. Her back arched off the grass and her mouth fell open as he continued to lap at her drenched slit like he was savoring the finest feast he ever had.

“Gaara,” she whimpered at the feelings of oversensitivity at the source of her pleasure. “Please.”

He stopped completely, deliberating taking his time and kissing each of her shaking thighs. Gaara slithered up her body, kissing her stomach, sampling her breasts and nipples hungrily, until he reached her lips. Love-drunken, she opened her mouth and let his tongue tangled with hers, enjoying the taste of her own juices on his mouth.

Gaara stopped kissing her and then hesitantly looked around and chuckled. “Look, Sakura.”

Still reeling from the euphoria, Sakura turned her head to the side and gasped. Tall and beautiful flowers had sprouted all around them. They were engulfed in a sea of blossoms. Sakura giggled at the sight, her hand plucking one of the Larkspurs to tuck it atop of his ear. She pulled him down to kiss her once again before he could comment or remove the plant.

He made no move to remove his robes. He didn’t move her hands to his hard cock that was pressing into her stomach. He didn’t ask for anything in return, instead, all he did was whisper into her ear. “Would you like to live deliciously?” Gaara purred into her ear.

Sakura gazed up at the man who was the culmination of sin and beauty. She turned her head in wonder at his intoxicating appearance. Her angel eyes saw the good in many devils, and he was no exception.

Sakura didn’t hesitate when she said, “Yes.”

**Author's Note:**

> 


End file.
